Enhancing students' test coping skills: Report of a psychological health education program.

Abstract

We tested the effectiveness of a teacher-implemented psychological health education program designed to improve students 1 test coping skills in the classroom. Four hundred ninety-seven Israeli students, drawn from 24 fifth-and sixth-grade elementary school classes, were randomly assigned to experimental and control conditions by homeroom class. Students were trained to practice rational self-analysis and exploration, relaxation and deep-breathing exercises, positive self-statements, positive self-reinforcement, and coping imagery. The training program consisted of five workshop sessions held in the classroom and implemented by homeroom teachers specifically trained for the task. Overall, the cognitive training program was shown to significantly improve students' levels of performance on three cognitive measures, although it negligibly affected test anxiety scores. On the whole, these results support the feasibility and effectiveness of a teacher-based program for the improvement of students' test coping skills and subsequent test performance.

Family environment, discrepancies between perceived actual and desirable environment, and children's test and trait anxiety

“…There are those who argue that test anxiety is a learned condition, and that social and cultural evaluative factors have an important bearing on its development (El-Zahhar & Hocevar, 1991;Hembree, 1988). While such variables as perceptions of teachers (Zeidner et al, 1988a) and classroom climate (Zeidner & Schleyer, 1999) have been investigated, little attention has been paid to the family environment.…”

Test Anxiety

“…Intervention research focused on the individual has been carried out in the form of treatments directed toward either or both the cognitive and the emotional dimensions of test anxiety (Allen, Elias, & Zlotow, 1980;Crowley, Crowley, & Clodfelter, 1986;Denney, 1980;Zeidner, Klingman, & Papko, 1988). Frequently used interventions indude cognitive therapy, rational-emotive therapy, cognitive-behavioral treatments, systematic desensitization, relaxation training, and biofeedback training.…”

Academic anxiety, academic procrastination, and parental involvement in students and their parents

“…The overall scale consists of three subscales. The rst was the 20-item Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI: Spielberger, 1980), a highly reliable and valid instrument that has been translated into many languages, including the Hebrew form used here (Zeidner, Klingman & Popko, 1988). The homework anxiety and paper writing anxiety subscales (10 and 8 items, respectively) were constructed by the authors to assess anxiety about these academic assignments.…”